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INTRODUCTION ABOUT US
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
BANI, much like the better-known acronym VUCA, is a framework to articulate the way our world functions as a system and enables us to analyse the evolving environment within which we operate. This systemic thinking approach invites us to look at our world in a holistic manner.
Scientists represent complex systems with network links that connect nodes. Each node can be thought of as a ‘sub-system’ of its own, and its behaviour affects all the links and networks it is attached to. When certain nodes become dominant in the system, and the links to each other extremely strong and dependent, then the system is fragile. On the other hand, if there is more diversity and redundancy built into the system, then it becomes more resilient.
“B” stands for Brittle
It is the fact that we are exposed to catastrophes at any time. A brittle system can give the impression that it is strong and sturdy, but beyond a certain point, a small disturbance can tip the entire system over its critical threshold, whereupon it collapses suddenly and unstoppably.
Our economies and businesses typically view efficiency as the main driver of profit making, cost cutting and time saving. However, maximizing efficiency may be at the expense of resilience. An increasingly interconnected world means that a brittle system can have enormous consequences. A failure of an important structure can then lead to a whole series of failures, for instance the 2008 bank collapse and the Lehman Brothers failure.
“A” stands for Anxious
This brittle world we live in, makes life increasingly uncertain and knowing that our global systems are so fragile generates immense anxiety, thereby causing us to become more risk-averse and leading us to a state of passivity, affecting our ability to make decisions and take actions. This goes against today’s need of business agility – the ability to react quickly to challenges.
“N” stands for Non-Linear
In our dynamic and complex system, the link between cause and effect has become disconnected or disproportionate. The climate crisis is a prime example of this and will continue to be so for a long time ahead. We know that global warming causes an increase in extreme weather events but it is very hard for scientists to show cause and effect between global warming and meteorological events. Similarly certain actions to reduce our carbon emissions may have negative cascading impacts on other systems, whilst a great effort may not bring great results.
“I” stands for Incomprehensible
Incomprehensibility is a product of today’s information and misinformation overload. Obsessiveanalysisofdatacould overwhelm any person’s ability to understand it, as well as make it hard to distinguish signal from noise. We experience an incomprehensible situation when we struggle to find answers and/or the answers are not convincing and/or we can’t really use those answers to drive further actions. We usually try to overcome this problem by increasing the volume of data available, but this can be counter-productive; the more we try to understand an incomprehensible situation, the more we feel overwhelmed.
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UBP INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
MANAGEMENT APPROACH